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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. | 

Chap SSL . Copyright No. 
ShelL/Esf 7 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
























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BRENTANO’S POCKET LIBRARY 


Brentano’s Pocket Library. 

By R. F. FOSTER, 

Author of “ Foster’s Whist Manual.” 

Volumes Now Ready : 

CINCH. 

POKER. 

CHESS. 

DICE AND 

DOMINOES. 

Other Volumes in Preparation. 



JBrentano'g pocket Xlbrarg 


CINCH 


DOUBLE PEDRO, OR HIGH FIVE 



AUTHOR OF “FOSTER’S WHIST MANUAL” AND 

“ foster’s complete hoyle.” 




NEW YORK 

BRENTANO’S 


CHICAGO 


WASHINGTON 


PARIS 



Gr VI • 2 . 9 $- 
7P3 F7 


Copyright, 1897, by 
BRENT ANO’S 


Press of J. J. Little & Co. 
Astor Place, New York 


CONTENTS, 


Introduction 


• 


PAGE 

7 

Description of the Game 




• i5 

Objects of the Game 




. 29 

Method of Playing 




. 38 

Methods of Scoring 




•. 45 

Varieties of Cinch . 


- . 


. 52 

Two or Three Players . 




• 55 

Five or Six Players 




. 56 

Razzle-Dazzle . 




• 56 

Progressive Cinch 


• 


• 59 

Duplicate Cinch 


• 


. 66 

Suggestions for Good Play 

• 

• 

• 

• 73 

Illustrative Hands . 

• 


e 

• 83 

Index to Laws 

• 


• 

. 99 

General Index . 


9 


. 103 








INTRODUCTION. 


Cinch is a game of cards ; the scion of one 
of the most ancient and honorable families, 
that of All Fours. 

In America, where there is little respect for 
tradition or conservatism, the name of All 
Fours has been almost entirely dropped for 
that of Seven-Up, a name which refers to the 
number of points necessary to win the game, 
and which might be equally applied to Whist 
or Sixty-Six. Probably few persons are aware 
that the name itself, All Fours, forms part 
of the evidence that enables us to trace the 
history of playing cards to their origin. 

It is now generally admitted that the game 
of chess was invented by the Hindoos, and 
has been known from time immemorial in 
Hindustanee by the name of Chatur-anga, the 
Four Kings ; or Chaturaji, the Four Rajahs. 
In the year 1278 we find an entry in the Ward¬ 
robe Rolls of Edward the First which goes to 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 


show that chess was known in England at 
that time as the game of the Four Kings, and 
it is well established that cards were first 
known in England as the Books of the Four 
Kings. There is abundant evidence, as 
shown by Chatto, in his “ Facts and Specu¬ 
lations about Playing Cards,” that cards were 
derived from chess, and that the derivation 
took place while chess was still known by the 
name of quatuor reges. The old Hindoo 
chessmen were colored red, green, yellow 
and black, which were also the colors of the 
grounds on four of the suits of a pack of 
Hindustanee cards, and which are the colors 
of the old German packs today, except that 
brown is substituted for black. As cards 
were introduced in Germany about 1300, we 
may naturally look to the old German packs 
as indicating the earliest manner of distin¬ 
guishing the suits. 

From the earliest times the number four 
has been associated with playing cards ; the 
four suits, the four honors, the four principal 
trumps at Ombre, etc., and Chatto thinks that 
probably the name of one of the very earliest 
games of cards, All Fours, may have meant 
winning in each of the four Angas or divisions, 


INTRODUCTION. 


9 


now represented by High, Low, Jack, and 
the Game. The selection of high and low 
in the trump suit is perfectly natural, and so 
is the point for game, the pip value of the 
cards held or won being a prominent feature 
in all the early card games. The Jack we 
also find occupying a conspicuous place in 
the oldest games, notably in Ombre and in 
Maw, the latter being the forerunner of Spoil 
Five. 

Like all popular games of cards, All Fours 
has had its offshoots. The first of these was 
probably Pitch, in which the eldest hand 
pitched the suit he wished to be the trump, 
instead of allowing the dealer to turn it up. 
From this it was an easy step to selling out 
the privilege of pitching the trump to some 
player who was very anxious to have that 
privilege, from which we have Auction Pitch. 
A very little experience at this game would 
call attention to the awkwardness of there 
being no second bids, and to the fact that one 
good bid practically put an end to the auction. 
Players of a speculative temperament would 
naturally devise means to allow for second 
bids, which could be done only by adding 
other counting cards, and so we find Pedro 


IO 


INTRODUCTION. 


introduced, which is simply Auction Pitch 
with the privilege of bidding more than once, 
and the possibility of making nine points 
instead of four. 

A step further in the same direction, and 
we find the Nine added to the counting cards, 
that being the highest pip card except the Ten, 
which was already appropriated to decide the 
point for game. This brings us to Sancho 
Pedro, with the possibility of bidding or 
making eighteen points on a single deal. 
Still another step, and we find the addition of 
the Three, the smallest pip card except the 
Deuce, already used to decide the point of 
low. This brings us to Dom Pedro Sancho, 
with twenty-one points to bid and play for. 
A step further, and we reach the limit by 
introducing the Joker, ranking below the 
Deuce of trumps, but above any card in plain 
suits, and counting fifteen toward game. 
This gives us, under the euphonious name of 
Snoozer, a grand total of thirty-six points to 
be bid and played for in every hand. 

At some time in the world’s history it is 
probable that some Irishman with a love for 
Spoil Five, and some American with an equal 
fondness for Euchre, must have compromised 


INTRODUCTION. 


ii 


on the original importance of the Five-spot, 
and the additional beauties of right and left 
bowers, and played Auction Pitch with a 
right and left Pedro. It is generally believed 
that this variation came from somewhere 
in the neighborhood of Denver, not much 
earlier than 1885, and that it was taken to 
Chicago about three years later. 

A very little practice at the new game 
would convince any average card-player that 
the most important point in the play was to 
prevent the adversary from getting home the 
Pedroes, especially on his partner’s tricks, 
and that the only way to prevent such a con¬ 
tingency was to play a trump higher than the 
Five. Hence the earlier name, High Five, 
probably an abbreviation of “ higher than the 
Five.” In a game originating in a country 
full of Mexican idioms, nothing could be 
more natural than for a player to refer to 
a trick which was held in this manner as 
“ cinched,” a cinch being a common western 
expression for anything that is made fast or 
secure. The word is adopted from the Mexi¬ 
can name for a very strong saddle girth, which 
will hold a saddle in place in spite of any 
amount of “ bucking.” 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


Unfortunately for the best interests of the 
game, upon its arrival in Chicago Cinch 
fell among whist players, who proceeded to 
draw up for the game a set of laws which were 
simply a rehash of the English Whist Code. 
They seem to have entirely forgotten that 
Cinch belonged to the family of All Fours, 
and had nothing in common with Whist 
except that it was played by four persons, 
and that its laws should have been based 
upon those of Seven-Up and Auction Pitch. 
This error has been recognized and remedied 
in more recent works on card games, and in 
the following pages the game has been treated 
strictly as a member of the family of All 
Fours. 

Cinch is undoubtedly one of the best of 
modern games for four players. The accu¬ 
racy of the inferences possible as to the loca¬ 
tion of certain cards is hardly second to that 
at Whist, although it is confined entirely to 
one suit, that of the trumps. The informa¬ 
tion given by the discard as to the number 
of trumps held, and the methods of leading 
adopted with certain hands, enable shrewd 
players to bring off some very fine coups, as 
will be seen in the Illustrative Hands. Those 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


who are ambitious to excel in Whist, will find 
Cinch an excellent training school, and many 
persons think it a better, or at least a more 
enjoyable game for the social circle. 

For the benefit of those who believe in 
eliminating as much as possible the element of 
luck, the author has added to the usual forms 
of the game a method of playing Cinch in 
duplicate, the cards held by one pair being 
afterward given to their opponents, in order 
that each side may have an opportunity to 
bid and play them under precisely the same 
conditions. If there is any difference in the 
result, it must be credited to skill, the luck of 
having certain cards dealt to them being 
eliminated. Duplicate Cinch is an excellent 
game for club tournaments and large parties. 




DESCRIPTION OF THE 
GAME. 


Cinch may be played by any number of 
persons from two to six, but the most popu¬ 
lar form of the game is that for four players, 
which will be first described. 

THE CARDS. 

Cinch is played with a full pack of fifty- 
two cards, the rank of which is the same 
both in cutting and in play : A K Q J io 9 
8765432; the Ace being always the 
highest card, as it is in all other varieties of 
All Fours. 


THE PEDROES. 

The Five of the trump suit is known as the 
Right Pedro, and the Five of the same color 
as the trump suit, red or black, is known as 
the Left Pedro, and practically belongs to the 


i6 


THE PEDROES. 


trump suit for that deal. The rank of the 
Left Pedro for trick-taking purposes is be¬ 
tween the Five and the Four of the trump 
suit, so that the Right Pedro will win the 
Left ; but the Left will win the Four, Three 
or Deuce of trumps. 

THE MARKERS. 

Cinch being one of those games in which 
playing to the score is an important feature, 
it is necessary to have markers which will 
show each player at the table the number of 
points that have been scored by each side, 
without requiring anyone to ask for the in¬ 
formation, which might be interpreted by the 
adversaries as calling partner’s attention to 
the score, which is against the rules. 

There are three ways of marking the game, 
the most popular being to use a pull-up game 
counter. 



PULL-UP GAME COUNTER. 



THE MARKERS. 


17 


This is so constructed that each hole is 
provided with a peg which cannot be pulled 
out and lost. The points are marked as they 
accrue by pulling up the pegs, which are 
divided into sections of five each, for con¬ 
venience in counting. The forward peg 
always shows the total number of points 
scored, while the back peg acts as a check 
to show that the correct number has been 
scored on each hand. The marker is placed 
between two adversaries, each of whom 
keeps the score for himself and his partner 
on the side of the counter which is next to 
him. 

Another method is to use circular counters 
or poker chips of different colors. The num¬ 
ber of points necessary to win a game is 
usually fifty-one, and the counters required 
are therefore four white ones, representing 
one each ; one red one, representing five ; 
and four blue ones, representing ten each. 
One player on each side keeps the score, and 
passes the counters from left to right as the 
points accrue, making change for the larger 
with the smaller denominations when neces¬ 
sary. The defect in this system is that there 
is no check on improper counting, as there is 


18 MARKING POINTS. 

nothing to show what the score was before 
the points were marked up. 

The third method, and the most common, 
is to mark the game on a sheet of paper, one 
player keeping the count for both sides. The 
chief objection to this method is that the 
score is not visible to every player at the 
table, which, as already pointed out, is a 
defect in any game in which playing to the 
score is an important element. 

THE PLAYERS. 

Although any number from two to six can 
play, the standard game is for four persons, 
two being partners against the other two, and 
the partners sitting opposite each other. The 
player on the left of the dealer is known as 
the eldest hand, and the one on the dealer’s 
right, whose duty it is to cut the cards before 
they are distributed in each deal, is known as 
the pone. 

CUTTING IN. 

A cinch table is complete with six players. 
If there are more than six candidates for play, 
those first in the room have the preference, 


CUTTING IN. 


19 


otherwise the selection must be made by cut¬ 
ting. If there are more than four players be¬ 
longing to the table, they must cut to decide 
which shall play the first game. 

The usual method of cutting is to “ spread ” 
a pack of cards face downward on the table, 
from which each candidate then draws a card, 
and turns it face up. The four cutting the 
highest cards play the first game. If any per¬ 
son exposes more than one card he must cut 
again. The Ace is high in cutting, as it is in 
play. 


CUTTING FOR PARTNERS. 

Before the persons selected to play take 
their seats at the table, the pack is re-shuffled 
and spread again, and the four players draw 
cards for partners. The two highest pair 
against the two lowest, and the player cutting 
the highest card of the four has the choice of 
cards, (if two packs are used,) the choice of 
seats, and the first deal. His partner sits op¬ 
posite him, and the adversaries may then suit 
themselves as to which of them will sit on the 
right or left of the dealer. 


20 


CUTTING OUT. 


CUTTING OUT. 

At the end of the game, if there are more 
than four players belonging to the table, or 
if the table is not filled, having fewer than six 
players belonging to it and a fresh candidate 
demanding admission, those who have played 
the first game must cut to decide which shall 
give way, those cutting the lowest cards going 
out. If six belong to the table, there will be 
two to go out ; but after the second game has 
been played it will not be necessary to cut 
again, because those who have played both 
games must give way, and allow those to re¬ 
enter who were out after the first game. 

Partners and deal must be cut for afresh at 
the beginningof every game, after it has been 
determined which four are to play. 

If there are five belonging to the table, only 
one will go out; and at the end of the second 
game only the three who have played both 
games will cut to decide which shall go out. 
At the end of the third game the two who 
have played all three games cut to decide 
which of them shall give way. At the end of 
the fourth game, the one who has played all 
four games goes out without cutting. This 


CUTTING OUT. 


21 


completes what is generally known as a round, 
or tournee, each person having played an equal 
number of times, and it is usual for all five to 
cut afresh. In some clubs the original order 
of going out is set down on a sheet of paper, 
and the players continue to take one another’s 
places in the same order until a sixth player 
arrives, one of the five takes his departure, or 
the game breaks up. 


TIES IN CUTTING. 

If the first cut does not decide which of 
more than six candidates shall belong to the 
table, or which four of five or six candidates 
are to play the first game, or which players are 
to be partners, those cutting cards of equal 
value must cut again until they decide it. 

It is not always necessary to cut again, 
even when cards of equal value have been 
drawn. For instance : Four players cut for 
partners, and draw the following cards :— 


*!y. 


V V 




* ❖ 





* * 
A 



ifl 


4» 4* 


V 

* * 


* * 







22 


TIES IN CUTTING. 


The Queen and Eight, being the two high¬ 
est, are partners ; and the Queen being the 
higher of these two has the choice of seats and 
cards, and takes the first deal. There is there¬ 
fore nothing to decide as between the players 
who cut the two Fours. 

But if the following cards had been cut :— 


♦ ♦ 
♦ ♦ 
♦ ♦ 


.♦. 


The two Tens, being the highest, would be 
partners, but they would have to cut again 
for the deal. Even if, on the second cut, one 
of them drew a card lower than the Eight or 
the Six, that would not lose him his position 
as the dealer’s partner, because the second cut 
decides nothing but the tie. 

If the players drew the following cards :— 


* 

* 


♦ * 





A 

A 




A 


4 * , 

*** 

♦ 

* 


♦ * 




❖ * 


The one who cut the Ace would take the 
first deal, and would have the choice of seats 












TIES IN CUTTING. 


23 


and cards ; but the two players who cut inter¬ 
mediate cards of equal value, the two Nines, 
would have to draw again to decide which of 
them would be the dealer’s partner. Suppose 
that on this second cut they drew a Four and 
Deuce ; the Four would be the dealer’s part¬ 
ner, although the card drawn was lower than 
the Six drawn by the fourth player. This is 
because the second cut decides nothing but 
the tie between the two Nines, one of which 
must be the dealer’s partner. 

If the first cut should show three cards of 
equal value, the whole three would have to 
cut again. Suppose the players drew these 
cards :— 



One of the three Kings must be the dealer, 
and another of them must be his partner, the 
Queen being the lowest card. Suppose the 


second cut was as follows 

I- 





*** 


* 




•5* *1* 


* 



*** 


* 













24 


TIES IN CUTTING. 


The player who cut the Jack would be the 
dealer, and the one who cut the Eight would 
be his partner, although all three cards were 
lower than the Queen originally cut by the 
fourth player. 

On the other hand, suppose the first cut 
was as follows :— 


* V 




* * 


V V 

• 5 * 


* * * 
* .* 
4* 1 4 . 


* 

4 * 


* 

V * 


The Ten would be the dealer, and the 
three Fives would have to cut again to de¬ 
cide which of them should be his partner. 
Suppose the second cut was as follows :— 




The King would be the dealer’s partner, 
not the dealer ; for the first cut decided who 
should deal, and the second was only to de¬ 
cide the tie as to his partner. 

In any of these cuts a player exposing two 
cards must cut again. 









SHUFFLING AND CUTTING. 


2 5 


PLAYERS’ POSITIONS. 

For convenience in referring to diagrams 
and illustrative hands, the four players at the 
table are distinguished by the letters A, Y, B, 
Z ; A-B being partners against Y-Z. 


B 

Y Z 

A 


Any of these may have been the dealer, but 
A is always the player who leads for the first 
trick in the hand under discussion, Y playing 
after him, then B, and finally Z. 

SHUFFLING AND CUTTING. 

Each player at the table has the right to 
shuffle the cards, the dealer last. If two 
packs are used, they should be of different 
colored backs, such as red and blue. It is 
the duty of the dealer’s partner to gather and 
shuffle, or “ make up ” the still pack and to 
place it on his right hand, so that the player 
whose turn it will be to deal next will find the 



26 


CUTTING FOR DEALER. 


cards on his left hand, all ready for the next 
deal. 

The dealer must present the pack to the 
pone, the player on his right, to be cut, and 
the pone must leave at least four cards in 
each packet. If any card is exposed in cut¬ 
ting to the dealer, or if there is any doubt or 
confusion as to the cut, the whole pack must 
be re-shuffled and again presented to be cut. 

DEALING. 

After the cards are cut, the dealer re-unites 
the packets, and proceeds to distribute the 
cards from left to right, three at a time to 
each player in rotation for three rounds, so 
that each shall receive nine cards. No trump 
is turned up, and the remainder of the pack 
is left upon the table face downward, and on 
the dealer’s left. The deal passes to the left. 

IRREGULAR DEALING. 

Any player dealing out of turn, or with the 
wrong pack, must be stopped before he gives 
the last three cards to himself, or the deal 
stands good, and the packs, if changed, must 
so remain for the rest of the game. 


IRREGULAR DEALING. 


27 


If the pack is found to be imperfect, the 
deal is void, and the same dealer must deal 
again with a perfect pack. An imperfect 
pack may be one in which there are duplicate 
cards, missing cards, or cards so marked or 
mutilated that they can be distinguished by 
the backs. If a card from the still pack is 
found among those dealt, the dealer is not 
allowed to throw it aside and proceed with 
the deal. He must gather up all the cards 
already dealt, re-shuffle them, and present the 
pack to the pone to be cut for a fresh deal 
with the perfect pack. 

Any drawing for partners or positions, or 
any scores made with a pack which is after¬ 
ward found to be imperfect, stand good ; the 
cut or the deal during which the imperfection 
is discovered is the only one that is void. 

If a card is found faced in the pack, the 
cards already dealt must be gathered again, 
and the whole pack re-shuffled, re-cut, and 
re-dealt by the same dealer. 

If the dealer exposes a card during the 
progress of the deal, or forgets himself and 
turns up a trump, the adversaries have the 
right to consult as to whether they shall let 
the deal stand or demand a fresh deal by the 


28 


EXPOSED CARDS. 


same dealer. If they elect to let the deal 
stand, the exposed card must be retained by 
the player to whom it was dealt. 

If either of the adversaries exposes a card 
during the deal, the dealer has the right to 
demand the privilege of gathering the cards 
and dealing afresh, provided he has not seen 
any other card but the one exposed. 

MISDEALS. 

A misdeal loses the deal, and the player on 
the misdealer’s left must proceed to deal with 
the other pack. 

It is a misdeal if the dealer has neglected 
to have the pack cut; if he re-shuffles the 
pack after it has been properly cut ; if he 
gives too many or too few cards to any 
player; does not give the same number of 
cards to each player in each round ; or if he 
counts the cards on the table or those remain¬ 
ing in the pack. 

Should the dealer give too many or too few 
cards to any player in any round, and discover 
the error before dealing to the next player, he 
is at liberty to remedy the error ; but if he has 
dealt to the next player, it is a misdeal. 


MISDEALING. 


2 9 


Should the adversaries interrupt the dealer 
in any way, or touch any of the cards before 
the deal is complete, they lose their right to 
claim a misdeal, and if the dealer makes any 
mistake, he has the right to gather all the 
cards again, re-shuffle them, present them to 
be re-cut, and proceed to deal again. 

OBJECTS OF THE GAME. 

Cinch may be played for any number of 
points up, but the general custom is to make 
the game fifty-one points, and the side first 
reaching that number is the winner. 

In every deal there are fourteen points 
which must be made. These are as follows :— 
i for High ; Ace of the trump suit, 
i for Low ; Deuce of the trump suit, 
i for Jack ; Jack of the trump suit, 
i for Game ; Ten of the trump suit. 

5 for Right Pedro ; Five of trumps. 

5 for Left Pedro ; Five of the same color. 

14 points altogether. 

These points count to the players that find 
them in the tricks they have taken in during 
the course of play ; not to the players to 
whom they were dealt. The whole object of 


3 ° 


OBJECT OF THE GAME. 


the game, therefore, is to secure the majority 
of these points, all of which are in the trump 
suit, except Left Pedro, which is considered a 
trump. 

This being the case, it becomes a matter of 
great importance to each player to determine 
what the trump suit shall be, because with 
one suit for trumps he may have a very good 
hand, capable of making perhaps ten or twelve 
of the fourteen points to be played for ; while 
if another suit is the trump his hand may be 
absolutely worthless. The points to be made 
being all in the trump suit, no other cards are 
of the slightest importance, and the entire 
value of a player’s hand depends on the 
number and strength of the trumps it contains. 

Each player therefore examines the nine 
cards originally dealt him, and endeavors to 
form some estimate of the number of points 
he could probably make, with reasonable as¬ 
sistance from his partner, if a certain suit 
were the trump. He is not to play the en¬ 
tire nine cards, but must discard everything 
but the trumps his hand contains, afterward 
drawing from the pack to restore the number 
of cards in his hand to six, not to nine, as will 
presently be explained. 


OBJECT OF THE GAME. 31 

The value of any given hand is, of course, 
largely problematical, on account of the un¬ 
certainty of the distribution of the other 
cards ; but there are certain general principles 
to guide a person in forming a correct esti¬ 
mate, and these will be given when we come 
to the suggestions for good play. All that is 
necessary for the present description of the 
game is to say that whatever the player judges 
would be about the value of his hand if a 
certain suit were trumps, with reasonable 
assistance from his partner, he should be 
willing to bid for the privilege of naming the 
trump suit. 

BIDDING. 

Each player in turn, beginning with the one 
on the dealer’s left, has the privilege of mak¬ 
ing one bid. This bid is not an offer to pay 
any individual player a certain amount for 
the privilege sought, but is simply an an¬ 
nouncement of the number of points that the 
player thinks he can make if he is allowed to 
name the trump to suit his hand. In bidding, 
he does not name the suit he prefers, but 
simply the number of points he will undertake 
to make in it, with his partner’s assistance. 


3 2 


BIDDING. 


It is never worth while to bid less than five, 
and if a player’s hand is not worth that 
amount he should pass, and the next player 
on his left will then have the privilege of 
making a bid. After a bid has been made, 
the next player in turn must either bid higher 
or pass, until each of the four players has 
declared himself. As it is impossible to make 
more than fourteen points, that is the highest 
bid that can be made. No one is allowed a 
second bid, and any bid once announced can 
neither be amended nor recalled. 

All four of the players having made a bid 
or passed, the one who has made the highest 
bid must name the trump suit, without any 
consultation with his partner. If the first 
three players pass without making a bid, the 
dealer must name the trump suit, but he need 
not bid anything for the privilege. 

IRREGULAR BIDDING. 

Players must be very careful not to bid out ot 
their proper turns, because such irregularities 
may convey valuable information to the part¬ 
ner, to the great disadvantage of the adver¬ 
saries, who can demand very severe penalties. 


IRREGULAR BIDS. 


33 


If any player makes a bid before the eldest 
hand has declared himself, both the player in 
error and his partner lose their privilege of 
bidding for that deal ; but the partner of the 
eldest hand may still bid against him for the 
privilege of naming the trump suit. 

If the eldest hand has declared himself, 
and his partner bids without waiting for the 
second hand, the player in error loses his bid, 
even if he bids fourteen, and the dealer may, 
if he chooses, make his bid before his partner, 
the second hand, declares himself. Should 
he do so, the second hand may improve on 
the dealer’s bid if he chooses to do so. 

If the dealer should bid when it was his 
partner’s turn, both of them lose the privilege 
of bidding for that deal ; but the third hand 
may still bid against the eldest hand for the 
privilege of naming the trump suit. 

If the first two players have declared them¬ 
selves, and the dealer bids without waiting 
for the third hand, the dealer loses his bid 
for that deal. 

If any player, before his partner has de¬ 
clared himself, names the suit on which he is 
bidding, his partner cannot bid that hand. 

If, after a bid has been made, and before the 
3 


34 


IRREGULAR BIDS. 


trump suit is named, any player exposes any 
of his cards, the adversaries of the player in 
error may consult, and may demand a new 
deal by the same dealer, or may let the deal 
stand, as they see fit. 

If a player bids with more than nine cards 
in his hand, the bid is void, but the deal stands 
good, provided each of the other players has 
his right number of cards. The adversary 
must draw the superfluous cards from the 
player’s hand, face downward, and place them 
about the middle of the undealt portion of the 
pack, without looking at them. 

DISCARDING. 

After the trump suit has been named, each 
player discards, face upward on the table, all 
the cards in his hand which are not trumps or 
Left Pedro. At least three cards must be laid 
out in any case, in order to reduce the playing 
hand to six cards. Should it be necessary to 
discard a trump, attention must be called to it, 
and it must not be a counting card. As there 
are only six counting cards, High, Low, Jack, 
Game, and the two Pedroes, it is impossible 
for a player to be unable to discard a worth- 


DISCARDING. 


35 


less trump, although he might prefer to dis¬ 
card Low in order to keep a King or Queen. 

DRAWING. 

All the players having discarded, the dealer 
takes up the remaining portion of the pack, 
and without any further shuffling or cutting, 
gives to each player in turn, beginning on his 
left, a sufficient number of cards from the top 
of the pack to restore the number in his hand 
to six. Each player must be given all the 
cards required before the next one in order is 
helped. 


ROBBING THE DECK. 

After having helped each of the other play¬ 
ers, the dealer may search the remainder of 
the pack and take therefrom as many trumps 
as he can find, and help himself to any other 
cards he pleases, in order to restore his hand 
to six cards. These trumps must not be 
shown or named, but the number of cards 
drawn must be distinctly announced, so that 
every player at the table may know how many 
trumps the dealer held originally. Should 
the dealer find more trumps than he can hold, 


3 6 


ROBBING THE DECK. 


he must place the superfluous ones face up¬ 
ward on the table, calling attention to them, 
and they must not be counting cards. 

Should any player, before drawing cards, 
discard a trump or a Left Pedro, his partner 
has the right to call his attention to it, and if 
the player has not drawn, or has not taken up 
the cards dealt to him in exchange for his dis¬ 
card, the trump inadvertently discarded may 
be taken back ; otherwise it must remain 
among the discards until the hand has been 
played out. If it is of any counting value, it 
will then be added to the score of the side 
that announced the trump suit. 


IRREGULAR DISCARDING. 

Should any player ask for more cards than 
he has discarded, and not discover the error 
until he has taken them up, his whole hand 
must be spread upon the table face down, and 
one of the adversaries must then draw the 
superfluous cards from it at random, after¬ 
ward turning the drawn cards face upward on 
the discards, if all the other players have been 
helped. If all the other players have not been 


IRREGULAR DISCARDS. 


37 


helped, the drawn cards must be placed on the 
top of the undealt portion of the pack. If a 
card so drawn and turned up on the discards is 
a counting trump, it must remain among the 
discards until the end of the hand, when it 
will be scored by the side that named the 
trump suit. 

If any player asks for too few cards, and 
fails to discover the error until after the player 
following him has been helped, he must play 
with the short hand, or make it good from the 
discards, but he must not take a trump there¬ 
from, even should there be one available. 

If the dealer gives a player more or less 
cards than he asks for, and the player takes 
them into his hand without discovering the 
error, the player with the incorrect number of 
cards is responsible. If he calls the dealer’s 
attention to the error before taking up the 
cards, the dealer must immediately give him 
the cards necessary to complete his hand, or 
must take back the bottom card or cards dealt 
to him, and place them on the top of the pack 
before proceeding with the deal. 

A player is not allowed to ask another how 
many cards he drew. He must watch the 
number asked for. 


38 


METHOD OF PLAYING. 


METHOD OF PLAYING. 

The individual player who has named the 
trump suit begins by leading any card he 
pleases. If this card is a trump, everyone 
must follow suit if able to do so, but no one 
is obliged either to head or win the trick un¬ 
less he chooses. It must not be forgotten 
that the Left Pedro is one of the trump suit, 
and in the absence of any other trump in the 
player’s hand, it must be played when trumps 
are led. If the Left Pedro is led, trumps 
must be played to it. 

When a plain suit is led, a player need not 
follow suit if he prefers to trump ; but if he 
does not trump, he must follow suit if he can. 
If he has none of the suit led, and does not 
care to trump it, he may discard anything he 
pleases. 

The highest card played, if of the suit led, 
wins the trick unless it is trumped, in which 
case the highest trump played wins the trick. 
The winner of one trick leads for the next 
one, and so on, until all six tricks have been 
played. One player on each side should 
gather all the tricks won by himself and his 


METHOD OF PLAYING. 


39 


partner, turning them face down in front of 
him. Although the tricks have no value as 
such, it is usual to keep them separate, in case 
there should arise any question of revokes. 

If a player has any doubt as to which card 
was played by his partner or his adversary, he 
may ask the players to draw their cards, 
whereupon each of those who have already 
played to the trick must draw toward him the 
card he has played. A player is not allowed 
to ask such questions as : “Your trick, part¬ 
ner ?” or, “ Did you play that Ace?” Any 
player calling attention to a trick by saying 
that it is his so far, or that he has trumped it, 
is liable to have his partner called upon to 
win the trick if he can, or not to win it if he 
can avoid doing so without revoking. 

After a trick has been taken in and turned 
down, it may still be seen by any player re¬ 
questing the privilege, provided the following 
trick has not also been turned down ; but the 
player asking to see the trick must not be 
informed as to which cards were played by 
certain players. It is also too late to ask the 
players to draw their cards if the trick has 
been touched for the purpose of gathering it, 
after it is complete. 


4 o 


IRREGULAR HANDS. 


IRREGULAR HANDS. 

If a player has more than six cards, and 
does not discover the error until after the first 
player has led for the first trick, his hand is 
foul, and neither he nor his partner can score 
any points that deal, although they are at 
liberty to play the hand out, in order to pre¬ 
vent their adversaries from scoring every¬ 
thing. If a player has too few cards, he may 
either draw a plain-suit card from the dis¬ 
cards, or play the short hand as it is, without 
penalty in either case. 

Should any player find in his hand any evi¬ 
dence that the pack is imperfect, such as 
duplicate cards, or cards so mutilated that 
they can be identified by the backs, he can 
claim the whole deal as void. 


LEADING OUT OF TURN. 

Should any player lead out of turn, and the 
three others follow him without noticing the 
error, the trick stands good, and the winner 
of it leads for the next trick. If attention is 
called to the error before the fourth card is 


IRREGULAR LEADS. 


4i 


played to the trick, the cards of those who 
have followed the false lead must be taken 
back. 

The penalty for a lead out of turn depends 
on which side should have led. If it was the 
turn of either adversary of the player in error, 
the card led out of turn must be left on the 
table as exposed, and liable to be called, as 
will presently be explained. If it was the 
partner of the player in error who should 
have led, the adversary on his right may de¬ 
mand that he leads, or does not lead, a trump; 
but he cannot demand the lead of any partic¬ 
ular plain suit. 


PLAYING OUT OF TURN. 

If the leader’s partner plays before the 
second hand, the fourth may play before the 
second also, either of his own volition or at 
the request of his partner. If the fourth 
player on the trick plays before either his part¬ 
ner or the third hand has played, the trick may 
be claimed by the adversaries, regardless of 
who actually wins it ; but the player who 
really wins it must lead for the next trick. 


42 


THE REVOKE. 


THE REVOKE. 

If a player fails to follow suit when able to 
do so, and does not trump the trick, it is a 
renounce in error, and, if not corrected in 
time, the penalty for it, when detected and 
claimed by the adversaries, is that the side in 
error cannot score any points that hand, al¬ 
though they may play it out to prevent their 
adversaries from scoring everything. The 
method of adjusting the score when a revoke 
is claimed will be explained when we come 
to the methods of scoring. A revoke may be 
claimed and proved at any time before the 
score of the hand has been announced and 
agreed to. 


ABANDONED HANDS. 

Some players have a very bad habit of 
throwing down their cards as soon as their 
trumps are exhausted. This is contrary to 
the principles of the game, because it is giving 
the other players information to which they are 
not entitled. Should a player abandon his 
hand in this manner the cards in it must be left 


ABANDONED HANDS. 


43 


face upward on the table, and may be called 
by either adversary. In some clubs the 
partner of the player in error is obliged to 
expose his cards also. 

EXPOSED CARDS. 

If a player drops any of his cards face 
upward on the table, or plays two or more 
cards to one trick, or leads one out of turn, 
or names any card in his hand without play¬ 
ing it, all such cards are exposed, and must be 
left face upward on the table. 

If a player with an exposed card in front 
of him can get rid of it in the course of play, 
no penalty remains ; but until it is so got rid 
of the adversaries may call it at any time by 
demanding it to be led or played to any trick. 
If the exposed card is a trump, the adversaries 
may prevent its being played, even if trumps 
are led, but the player with an exposed trump 
is not liable to a revoke penalty under such 
circumstances. This rule is necessary in 
order to prevent one player from exposing 
the best trump, and his partner leading a 
Pedro to it. 

The conditions under which the adversaries 


44 


EXPOSED CARDS. 


may call exposed cards are as follows:—If they 
wish an exposed card to be led, they must call 
it before the previous trick is turned and 
quitted. In order to secure this it is usual 
for the player who may wish to call the card 
to keep his hand upon his own card until all 
four have played, in order to prevent the 
adversaries from gathering the trick before 
there is time to call the lead. If the player 
with the exposed card in front of him proceeds 
to lead for another trick before the previous 
one is turned and quitted, the card so led 
also becomes an exposed card, and is liable 
to be called. 

If an adversary proposes to call an exposed 
card to be played on any trick, he must do so 
before he plays himself if he is on the right 
of the exposed card. If he is on the left he 
must place his hand on the exposed card 
before his partner plays, to show that he may 
wish to call the exposed card after he has 
seen his partner’s play. If his partner plays 
without giving him time, and the player with 
the exposed card plays before it is called, the 
card cannot be called on that trick, neither 
can it be prevented from being played if it is 
a trump. 


SCORING. 


45 


SCORING. 

After the last trick has been played, each 
side turns over all the tricks it has won, and 
counts up all the points they contain. If the 
two scores added together do not make four¬ 
teen, some counting cards must be among 
the discards, which must be searched for 
them, and if found they must be added to the 
score of the side that made the trump. 

The side that announced the trump suit 
must win at least as many points as it bid for 
the privilege, or it can score nothing. If it 
bid nine, for instance, and made only High, 
Low, Jack, Pedro, which are collectively worth 
but eight points, whereas nine w r as the under¬ 
taking, they could score nothing. The adver¬ 
saries, on the other hand, would not only 
score the six points out of fourteen that 
they actually made, but would score the nine 
points bid by the players who made the trump. 
A player has been known to bid fourteen on 
the A K Q 2 of a suit, and to make two points 
only, High Jack. His partner had no trumps ; 
his right hand adversary had J io 9 6 4, and 
his left hand adversary held 873 and both 
Pedroes. In this case the maker of the 


46 


SCORING. 


trump scored nothing, while his adversaries 
scored 26 altogether, the 12 actually made 
and the 14 bid. 

If the side that names the trump makes as 
many points as it bids, or more, there are 
several ways to score. The simplest, and 
decidedly the fairest, is the following, which 
is now used in all the first-class clubs. 

After the points actually made by each 
side have been counted, and it is found that 
the side naming the trump has made good 
its bid, the higher score is deducted from the 
lower, and the difference is the number of 
points to be actually scored. For instance : 
A-B bid nine and make ten, which makes 
good their bid. From this ten they must 
deduct the four made by their adversaries, 
leaving them six points to be marked 
toward game. Should the side making the 
trump bid six only, and make just six, their 
adversaries would score two points for the 
difference between six and eight. If both 
made seven, neither would score anything if 
the bid was made good. All that is gained 
by making a bid of less than eight is the 
probability of preventing the adversaries from 
bidding and making a trump on which they 


SCORING. 


47 


might get a large score. For instance : One 
of them may have a hand which is good for a 
bid of seven on hearts for the trump, but not 
for eight. You bid seven on clubs, which 
shuts out the seven on hearts. You make 
your bid, but no more, and score nothing. 
Had you passed, and hearts been the trump, 
they might have made twelve, scoring ten 
points ; all of which you saved by your bid. 
A bid of six will sometimes shut out a player 
who is just too weak to risk seven, although 
his hand and his partner’s combined may have 
been good for fourteen, if he only knew it. 

When a revoke is claimed and proved, the 
side in error has nothing to deduct, and their 
adversaries score all they make, regardless of 
whether or not they equal their bid. If the 
revoking side have made the trump, but fail 
to reach thefr bid, the amount of the bid is 
added to the adversaries’ score as usual. 
There is no additional penalty for the revoke. 
The same rules apply to the scoring when one 
player has a foul hand, too many cards. 


48 


SCORING. 


ANOTHER METHOD. 

A second method of scoring is to allow each 
side to score the number of points actually 
made, provided the side naming the trump 
has made good its bid. For instance : A-B 
bid six and make it. Instead of their adver¬ 
saries, Y-Z, scoring the difference between 
six and eight, they score the eight they make, 
and A-B score their six. Again : A-B bid 
nine and make it. They score it, and Y-Z 
score the five they get. Apparently this 
amounts to the same thing as the first method 
described, only shortening the game ; but as 
a matter of fact it is not nearly so good, be¬ 
cause it gives the side that is much in the 
lead a great advantage, and enables it to 
“ sweat out; ” that is, to get out without 
making any effort to do so, and in spite of 
the best play of their adversaries. 

Suppose that A-B have 45 points scored, 
and Y-Z 20. Z bids 10 and makes it. This 
puts Y-Z’s score to 30, but it also advances 
A-B’s to 49. Again Z bids, this time 12, 
which he makes. Although this advances 
him to 42 it is not of the slightest use, be¬ 
cause the two points made by A-B have put 


SCORING. 


49 


them out. In the first method described, it 
would be impossible for A-B to get out in 
this manner, because on neither hand would 
they have scored anything, but would have 
stopped at 45 while Y-Z advanced to 36. It 
is therefore evident that no matter how far in 
advance one side may be, it cannot win the 
game unless it makes the majority of the 
points on some of the hands. If they want 
to get out they must play for it, and instances 
are not uncommon in which the score has 
been 49 or 50 to 2 or 3, and the lower score 
has pulled off the game by a series of bold 
bids and good plays. 


A THIRD METHOD. 

Another, and the most unsatisfactory method 
of all is called set-back Cinch. If the side 
naming the trump fails to make good its bid, 
it is set back the amount of the bid, while the 
adversaries score whatever they make. For 
instance: A-B bid nine and make eight only. 
Y-Z score the six they make and A-B have 
60 points to go, instead of 51. In this method 
it is possible for one side to be making des¬ 
perate efforts to win, with perhaps a hundred 
4 


5° 


SCORING. 


points to go, while their adversaries are quietly 
sweating out at the comfortable score of 30 or 
40 to go. 


COUNTING OUT. 

When either of the last two methods of 
scoring is employed, the result is frequently 
so close that it is necessary to settle upon 
some order of the counts to determine which 
side actually wins. The usual method is to 
follow the rule in Auction Pitch and to give 
the game to the side naming the trump, pro¬ 
vided it succeeds in making good its bid 
and gets points enough to win on the hand. 
This is called “bidder goes out.” For in¬ 
stance : A-B are 49, and Y-Z are 42. Y 
makes the highest bid, ten, and makes it 
good by getting home both Pedroes. This 
gives Y-Z the game, although A-B get to 
53 by making High, Low, Jack and Game. 

Another method, but not so fair, is to 
reckon the points in a certain order, and to 
give the game to the side that gets out first on 
those points, regardless of which side made 
the trump. This order is usually High, Low, 
Jack, Game, Right and Left Pedro. Accord- 


COUNTING OUT. 


51 


ing to this method A-B would have won the 
game in the foregoing illustration by making 
High Low. This method tends to encourage 
sweating out in close games, as the maker of 
the trump has no advantage unless he is 
bidding on the points that count out first, and 
even then he must make good his entire bid 
to score them. 


VARIETIES OF CINCH. 


There are a number of trifling differences 
in the manner of playing Cinch in various 
parts of the country ; none of them, however, 
are so good as the standard game which has 
been described. 

One method is for the dealer to give each 
player nine cards, three at a time, in the 
usual manner, after which the players bid for 
the privilege of naming the trump suit, but 
the successful bidder does not name the 
trump suit, and none of the players discard. 
As soon as the bidding is ended the dealer 
gives each player four more cards, exhausting 
the pack, and the successful bidder names the 
trump suit after he has examined the whole 
thirteen cards dealt to him. The players 
then discard seven cards each, reducing their 
hands to six cards, after which the playing 
and scoring proceed in the usual manner. 

This method of playing destroys many of 


VARIATIONS. 


53 


the fine points of the game, as there is no clue 
as to the number of trumps originally held or 
bid upon, and no evidence that the player 
eventually names the suit upon which he bid 
in the first instance. Speculative bidding is a 
great feature, especially when a player has 
two nearly equal suits in his first nine cards, 
or one suit of leaders, and another of counters, 
the last four cards determining which of the 
two he will declare for the trump. The dealer 
is also deprived of the chief advantage of his 
position in the ordinary game, robbing the 
deck, although he is still the last to bid. 

Another variation is to follow the usual 
method of discarding and drawing after the 
trump suit is announced, but to make the 
dealer discard and draw fresh cards from 
the top of the pack in the same manner as the 
other players. This often results in leaving 
counting cards in the remainder of the pack, 
which must be left face down until the play is 
finished. Such cards count for neither side, 
but the player making the trump may score 
any counting cards he finds in the discards, 
which are left face upward on the table to 
distinguish them from the undealt portion of 
the pack. 


54 


VARIATIONS. 


•This variation also leads to speculation in 
the bidding, there being no certainty that the 
player can make more than three or four 
points, even if he has the six highest trumps 
in his own hand. It is usual to count the 
largest and smallest trumps in play for High 
and Low respectively, as the Ace and Deuce 
may be left in the pack. 

A further variation, which may be used in 
any of the others, is to insist that the first 
lead in each hand shall be a trump. This is 
simply going back to Auction Pitch, and 
cramps a player in the use of some of the finer 
tactics of the game. 

Still another variation is to count Low for 
the person holding it, instead of to the person 
winning it. When this is the custom the 
Deuce of trumps is not gathered into the 
trick to which it belongs, but is left face 
upward on the table in front of the player to 
whom it was dealt. This avoids disputes at 
the end of the hand. 


TWO OR THREE PLAYERS. 


When four persons are not available, Cinch 
may be played by a less number, each playing 
for himself. Nine cards are dealt to each, 
and the hands may be discarded and drawn 
to after the trump is named, as in the standard 
game ; or four more cards may be given to 
each before announcing the trump. In either 
case the playing hand must be reduced to six 
cards. The dealer must never be allowed to 
rob the deck, however, or he would have such 
an advantage that no one would bid against 
him without an invincible hand. 

All the cards never being in play, it is seldom 
that fourteen points are made, even if High 
and Low are determined by the trumps actu¬ 
ally in play. 


RAZZLE-DAZZLE. 


This variety of Cinch was formerly quite a 
favorite in Washington, but has been quite 
superseded by the standard game for four 
players. There should be five or six players 
to make a good game, and positions may be 
cut for, the highest cut having the first deal, 
and choice of seats, the next higher the next 
choice, and so on. The cards are distributed 
three at a time for two rounds, each player 
receiving six only, instead of nine. The bid¬ 
ding proceeds as usual, and after the trump is 
named superfluous cards are thrown out and 
others drawn in their places, restoring the num¬ 
ber of cards in the hand to six. The dealer is 
not allowed to rob the deck, but must draw in 
the same manner as the other players. If 
there are not cards enough left in the pack to 
supply the demand for fresh cards, the discards 
must be taken up and shuffled, or the players 
must retain the cards originally dealt them. 


RAZZLE-DAZZLE. 


57 


Before play begins, the maker of the trump 
may name a certain card, and the holder of 
that card must accept the maker of the trump 
for a partner, and share his fortunes for that 
hand. It is usual for the player holding the 
named card to declare himself by saying, “ I 
play with you.” The partnership thus formed 
then plays against the remaining players at the 
table, but for that hand only, and without 
making any change in their positions. It may 
happen that the partners sit next each other, 
which is sometimes quite an advantage. 

If the partnership is successful in making 
the number of points bid, or more, both of 
them score the amount individually ; if they 
lose, each individual adversary scores against 
them. The scores are usually put down on a 
sheet of paper, each player’s record being 
preceded by a minus or plus mark. Fifty-one 
points is game. 

If a player feels strong enough to make the 
amount of his bid without any assistance from 
a partner, he may call for a card which is in 
his own hand, or among the discards, or he 
may simply announce that he is playing alone. 
If successful, he advances his own score with¬ 
out helping any other player. 


58 


RAZZLE-DAZZLE. 


In calling for a partner, it is usual to name 
the highest trump that the maker of the trump 
does not hold, and then to lead a Pedro for 
the partner to win. If the successful bidder 
has a strong leading hand himself, he should 
call for one of the Pedroes, so that it will be 
played on his lead. 

The game is usually played for a pool, and 
the first man out takes it all. If two go out 
at the same time, the one who made the trump 
wins if he is in the tie. If two or more play¬ 
ers go out by defeating a trump make, they 
must count out in the order of the points they 
win, High going out first, then Low, Jack, 
Game, Right and Left Pedro. 


PROGRESSIVE CINCH. 


Nothing could be more natural than for 
those who were interested in the game of 
Cinch in private and club life to wish to intro¬ 
duce it in the large social gatherings which 
had previously been given up to Euchre or 
Whist. 

The idea of the progressive game, as its 
name implies, is that the best players should 
progress toward a definite goal and prize, leav¬ 
ing their less skilful adversaries behind. 

ARRANGING THE TABLES. 

The initial arrangement of the players is to 
fill as many tables as possible with four per¬ 
sons at each. These tables should either be 
arranged in a line, or numbered in such a 
manner that they may be easily identified. 
The first table, or No. i, is called the head 
table ; the last, at the bottom of the line, is 
called the booby table. 


6o 


SCORE CARDS. 


SCORE CARDS. 

There are two arrangements for scoring. In 
one each player is provided with a small blank 
card, which is attached to the button-hole, and 
upon which are gummed the various colored 
stars which are given to the winning players 
during the progress of the game. Another 
method is to provide each pair with a score 
card upon which the number of points won can 
be set down in detail, opposite the names of 
the adversaries. 

There should be some person in charge of 
the game, who will see that the proper stars 
are given to the players, settle all disputes, 
notify the players by tapping the bell when it 
is time to change tables, etc. 

DECIDING PARTNERSHIPS. 

When the guests have all arrived, their posi¬ 
tions at the beginning of the game are usually 
decided by drawing from a duplicate pack of 
cards. The best method is to take the two 
black suits in each pack, and to sort out a 
sequence of cards in each, corresponding in 
length with the number of tables that can be 


DRAWING PARTNERS. 


61 

filled. Suppose that there are twenty ladies 
and twenty gentlemen present; they will fill 
ten tables, and all the black cards from the 
Ace to the Ten inclusive should be sorted out. 
These cards must be thoroughly shuffled to¬ 
gether, and presented to the players, face 
down, to draw from. The backs being of dif¬ 
ferent colors, it will be necessary to direct 
the ladies to draw one color only, such as the 
red, the gentlemen drawing the other color. 
Upon looking at the card drawn, the number 
of pips on it will indicate to the player the 
number of the table at which he or she is to sit. 
Upon arriving at the table it will be found that 
four cards of the same denomination, but of 
different suits, will be assembled. Those who 
hold cards of the same suit are partners for 
the first game. 


PLAYING. 

Any player may have the first deal, as each 
will have it once ; but for the sake of uni¬ 
formity it is better for the player sitting North 
at each table to deal the first hand, so that 
when it comes round to North’s deal again it 
will be known that the round is ended. 


62 


PLAYING. 


The cards are shuffled and dealt as in the 
regular four-handed game, and the play pro¬ 
ceeds in exactly the same manner until each 
player at the table has had a deal. In case of 
a misdeal, which loses the deal, some player 
at the table will have two deals in the round, 
but as the player in error loses his deal alto¬ 
gether, there will still be only four deals actu¬ 
ally played. 

The object of the game is not to reach 
fifty-one, but simply to make the greatest num¬ 
ber of points possible in the four deals, or at 
least to make more than your adversaries. 

PROGRESSING. 

At the end of the fourth deal, the players 
sit still until the person in charge of the game 
taps the bell as a signal for them to move. It 
will be the duty of this person, before giving 
the signal, to see that every table has finished 
its fourth deal, so that all may be ready to 
move at the same time. 

The pair that have made the higher score at 
the head table sit still, and do not change part¬ 
ners. Their adversaries go to the lowest or 
booby table. At each of the other tables the 


PROGRESSING. 


63 


winning pair progress to the next higher table, 
which will bring them one nearer the head 
table. On arriving at the new table, if it is 
not the head table, they change partners, the 
newly arrived gentleman sitting opposite the 
lady he finds at the new table. The pair go¬ 
ing to the head table do not change partners, 
but those going to the booby table do. 

In case of a tie in the number of points 
scored by each side at any table, the ladies 
cut to decide it, the higher cut winning. 

The progression continues in this manner, 
after every fourth deal, until the time set for 
the conclusion of the game, or until an agreed 
number of deals have been played. 


SCORING. 

There are several ways of scoring at Pro¬ 
gressive Cinch. The most common is for the 
person in charge of the game to affix a gold 
star to the cards worn by the winning pair at 
the head table, and a green star to those of 
the losers at the booby table. All the other 
players winning and progressing receive red 
stars, the losers getting nothing. 


64 


SCORING. 


Prizes should be provided for the lady and 
gentleman having the greatest number of 
each colored star; that for the gold stars 
being considered the first prize. The prize 
for the green stars is usually some trifle which 
is more odd than valuable. 

The same player is not allowed to win two 
different prizes. If there is a tie in the num¬ 
ber of gold stars, the accompanying red stars 
must decide it ; that being a tie also, the one 
with the fewest green stars wins ; if that does 
not decide it they must cut for it. A tie in 
the number of red stars must be decided by 
the greater number of gold stars, or the fewer 
green, or by cutting. A tie in the green stars 
must be decided in favor of the player with 
the fewer red or gold stars. 

Another method of playing is to retain the 
same partners all through the evening, and to 
put down on a score card ruled for the purpose 
the total number of points won. The pairs 
having the highest total are the winners. The 
number put down at the end of each four 
deals is the difference between the two scores 
at the table. 

The same method of scoring may be adopted 
for individuals, each player having his own 


SCORING. 65 

score card, and the players changing partners 
as in the star game. 

When either of these methods is adopted, 
there is no head or booby table, all the tables 
being alike in value, and the progression being 
useful only in bringing the various players 
together in continually changing groups. 

5 


DUPLICATE CINCH. 


Those who have become familiar with the 
method employed for eliminating the luck in 
Whist by playing the hands in duplicate, have 
introduced a similar process in Cinch. 

Unlike the usual progressive game, the same 
partners must play together all evening, and 
the contest is essentially one of pair against 
pair. The simplest arrangement for the play¬ 
ers is that known as the “compass game,” 
in which half the pairs sit North and South, 
and the remainder sit East and West. The 
tables are numbered from one upward, all the 
N and S players sitting still during the entire 
evening, while the E and W pairs move, after 
every round, to the next higher numbered 
table, No. 2 going to No. 3, and so on. Those 
at the last table go to No. 1. 

THE TRAYS. 

Some apparatus is necessary for preserving 
the hands, and Paine’s Paragon trays are gen. 


TRAYS. 


67 


erally used for the purpose. The number of 
these trays to be placed on each table before 
play begins will depend on the time available, 
and the number of tables engaged. Forty or 
fifty trays will usually be found quite enough 
for an evening’s amusement, and they should 
be divided equally among the tables in play, 
but never exceeding four at each. 


COUNTERS. 

Each table must be provided with two red 
and four white counters, for the purpose of 
scoring the points won in each hand. The 
red counters are worth five each, and are used 
to mark the Pedroes. The white counters 
are worth one each, and are used to score 
High, Low, Jack and the Game. 

PLAYING. 

At the beginning of the game the cards are 
thoroughly shuffled, and the entire pack is 
dealt out, three cards at a time for three 
rounds, and four cards on the last round, so 
that each player receives thirteen cards. The 


68 


PLAYING. 


indicator on the tray shows whose turn it is to 
deal. The privilege of naming the trump is 
then bid for, and after the trump has been 
named, each player discards seven cards, re¬ 
ducing his playing hand to six. These dis¬ 
cards are not thrown together, but those of 
each player are placed in the pocket in the 
tray in front of him. 

Instead of throwing the cards toward the 
centre of the table when leading or playing 
to a trick, each player in turn lays his card 
face upward in front of him, and the winner 
of the trick, if it contains any counting cards, 
immediately scores the points won by taking a 
red or white counter. Suppose that on lead¬ 
ing the Ace of trumps a player captured the 
Jack, and his partner gave him a Pedro. He 
would take one red and two white counters 
before leading for the next trick ; seven 
points, for High, Jack, Pedro. 

SCORING. 

The moment the play of a hand is finished, 
the winning pair puts down its score, the 
lesser number of points being deducted from 
the higher if the bidder is successful. If the 


SCORING. 


69 


bidder fails, the adversaries score all they make 
and add the amount of the bid, just as in the 
regular game. 

MOVING THE TRAYS. 

Each player then takes from the pocket in 
front of him the seven cards he originally dis¬ 
carded and shuffles them with the six he re¬ 
tained for play, placing the whole thirteen 
cards face downward in the tray. This brings 
the hands back to the original distribution of 
the deal, and the tray is ready to be passed 
on to the next table for the overplay. 

As soon as the trays originally dealt at a 
table have all been played, the E and W pairs 
move to the next higher numbered table, 
while the trays are passed to the next lower 
numbered table. There is no further shuffling 
of the cards ; the hands originally dealt being 
taken from the tray, bid upon, discarded from 
and played, exactly as if the hand had been 
dealt at that table in the first place. 

It is very important that the arrows on the 
trays should be kept constantly pointing to the 
North, so that the pocket marked “ Dealer ” 
will indicate which player is supposed to have 


70 


MOVING TRAYS. 


dealt the hand, and will show that the one on 
his left is to have the first bid. 


PLUS AND MINUS. 

At the end of the game there will be two 
winning pairs ; those with the best score N 
and S, and E and W respectively. 

If there are a number of tables engaged, it 
is usual to add together all the N and S scores, 
and then to divide the total by the number of 
tables in play, which will give the average 
made on the hands. Those having more than 
the average are called “ plus,” and those with 
less than the average are “ minus.” The same 
course is followed with the E and W scores. 


EVEN TABLES. 

When the number of tables in play is even, 
it will be necessary for the E and W pairs to 
move before playing all the trays at one table, 
or they will meet the same trays again when 
they get half way down the line of tables. If 
four trays are distributed to each table, only 
two must be played, and instead of the trays 


EVEN TABLES. 


71 


going in a direction opposite to that of the 
players, the E and W pair take them with them 
to the next table, but place them under the two 
trays they find there. They then play the tw r o 
upper trays, and take them to the next table 
with them, again placing them under the 
others, leaving behind them the two trays that 
they played at the first table. 

If only two or three trays are placed on 
each table at the beginning of the game, only 
one must be played before moving, and it 
must be taken to the next table and placed 
under those found there. If there are three 
trays at each table it will be necessary for the 
E and W players to go three times round the 
room to play all the trays. 

When the number of tables is odd, all the 
trays are played before the E and W players 
move, and the players go in one direction, the 
trays in another. 

Duplicate Cinch affords a great deal of 
amusement, and the variations in the scores 
are sometimes surprising, chiefly because on 
the same hands a totally different trump suit 
may be bid for and named. A player will 
often succeed in making good his bid at one 
table, while at another a similar bid will fail, 


72 


PAIR PLAYING. 


and sometimes a player will bid just a point 
too much at one table. 

There are methods of arranging the players 
so that every pair plays against every other 
pair, but the movements and the methods 
of scoring are too complicated for a social 
gathering. 


SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD 
PLAY. 


The chief points for the beginner are to 
know what to bid on his hand ; to keep count 
of the number of cards drawn ; to know when 
to lead trumps and when to lead a plain suit; 
and to know when to give up a Pedro and 
when to cinch a trick. 

BIDDING. 

The proper amount to bid on any hand is 
largely a matter of experience, but there are a 
few simple rules which will be of service to the 
novice. 

In the first place, never forget that you have 
a partner, and that although he may have a 
poor hand in some particular cases,, he will 
hold his share of the good cards in the long 
run. 

It is better to bid on high cards than on 


74 


BIDDING. 


points. The A K Q of a suit are worth a 
great deal more than the Jack and both 
Pedroes. Unprotected counting cards are 
frequently an element of weakness, and a 
player will sometimes spoil his entire game in 
a continual effort to save a Pedro which he is 
depending on to make good his bid. High 
cards, on the other hand, are always valuable, 
because they not only catch the counting cards 
held by the adversaries, but make it perfectly 
safe for your partner to give you whatever he 
holds. 

Some players bid according to a conven¬ 
tional system, with a view to indicating to the 
partner the nature of the cards held. Holding 
one or both Pedroes, whether accompanied by 
any other counting cards or not, it is usual 
to bid five. Holding Ace, even without any 
other counting card, to bid six. Holding Ace 
King, even without any other trumps, to bid 
seven. With three winning leads, Ace King 
Queen, it is usual to bid eleven or twelve. 
Eleven is always bid on Ace King Jack and 
two other trumps. 

An original bid of eight or nine is uncom¬ 
mon, but may be made in going over a bid of 
seven, if the bidder holds A J, A io, or A 2, 


BIDDING. 


75 


and at least two other trumps. Going-over 
bids are generally speculative, the player hop¬ 
ing to catch some minor counts. A K 6 2, 
for instance, is good for a bid of eight if seven 
has been offered, because you are almost cer¬ 
tain to save Low, and to catch either Jack or 
Game, with one of the Pedroes. 

The score is always an important element 
in bidding, and if you are well advanced you 
should be careful, because failure to make 
good a bid of ten or twelve will bring your 
adversaries up with a jump. When you are 
much behind, you can afford to bid fearlessly, 
especially if an adversary is to bid after you, 
and you will often induce him to overbid his 
hand, particularly if he is the dealer. 

Some players are very careless about bid¬ 
ding when the adversaries have lost the privi¬ 
lege, as by a bid out of turn. They seem to 
think it is necessary to bid only just enough 
to secure the privilege of naming the trump 
suit. But suppose your partner is to bid after 
you, he will be quite in the dark as to whether 
to leave the make to you, or to bid higher and 
name the trump himself. You may have a 
hand worth ten or twelve, but if you bid three 
or four only, he may go over you, and name a 


?6 


BIDDING. 


suit in which you cannot possibly get more 
than seven or eight points. 

A good player can often guess the suit his 
partner is bidding on. Suppose you are third 
hand and hold among other cards the A K of 
diamonds, K of hearts, and both the black 
Pedroes. Your partner bids seven. This 
amount being usually named with the A K of 
a suit in hand, you may be reasonably certain 
that it is a black suit he is bidding on, and as 
you can give him two Pedroes on his two 
leads, you should increase the bid to eleven. 

The dealer and his partner can usually af¬ 
ford to bid at least a point more than the act¬ 
ual strength of their hands, on account of the 
advantage the dealer has in robbing the deck. 
The dealer himself has a great advantage in 
not having to provide against being overbid 
by any following player. Many a good game 
has been lost by not bidding one point more, 
which would have been just enough to shut 
out a better bid. The dealer can often risk a 
point more than he should in order to shut 
out a bid which is just the amount he would 
have made. 


WATCHING THE DRAW. 


77 


WATCHING THE DRAW. 

It is very important to watch the number of 
cards drawn by each player, for the modern 
custom is to discard everything but trumps ; 
partly because no other cards are of the 
slightest use, and partly because every plain- 
suit card you keep decreases your chance of 
getting another trump. 

Many of the critical plays in Cinch are 
based upon the inference that a certain player 
must have a certain number of trumps, judg¬ 
ing from his draw alone. For instance, you 
are the successful bidder and the player on 
your right draws two cards, showing that he 
held four trumps originally. Your partner 
draws three cards. You have A K 6 2, and 
lead the Ace, player on your right dropping 
the Ten. Now, the three remaining trumps 
in his hand must be all counting cards, and 
are therefore the Jack and both Pedroes to a 
certainty. 

LEADING. 

With two or more high cards it is always 
best to lead trumps immediately, but if you 
fail to get anything from your partner on the 


78 


LEADING. 


first round you may find it to your advantage 
to change to a plain suit. Suppose you have 
A K 8 only, and your partner has drawn three 
cards. You lead the Ace, but he plays no 
Pedro. You should change to a plain suit, 
trusting him to cinch the trick. The danger 
is that one adversary will play a high trump 
and the other will save a Pedro ; but if the 
trumps are so distributed you cannot help 
yourself, and would equally lose by leading 
your King, and leaving the high trumps 
against you. 

Many players, holding both Pedroes, will 
lead one of them if they have no high trumps, 
trusting partner to save the points for them, 
or hoping to force the adversaries to play such 
high cards that the second Pedro can be saved 
later on. 

If you know from the draw, or from the 
play to the first trick, that the adversaries 
have more trumps than you have, or if you 
are not very strong, it will usually be better to 
lead a plain suit. Our Illustrative Hand No. 
3 shows the immense advantage of leading 
plain suits when not strong in trumps. If 
you and your partner can make your trumps 
separately, or can use medium trumps to advan- 


LEADING. 


79 


tage in alternately cinching tricks, the adver¬ 
saries will have to play very well to score 
against you, unless you have overbid your 
hand. 


YOUR PARTNER. 

If you lead an Ace of trumps, and your 
partner does not give you a Pedro, it should 
be a certainty that he has none. If you lead 
a plain suit, and your partner does not cinch 
the trick, although you know he has a trump, 
he either has no trump high enough, or holds 
both Pedroes in his own hand. If partner 
has two or more counting cards in his hand he 
should give up the lower card first, because 
the higher, Jack or Ten, for instance, may be 
useful in cinching, while the Deuce is worth¬ 
less except to count for Low. 

If partner leads a small trump, and you win 
the first round, always return the best trump 
you have, unless it is a Jack or Ten, and you 
think you may want it later on. If your 
partner leads a plain suit, and you have a 
good trump, such as Ace or King, lead it at 
once, and give him a chance to play a Pedro 
on it if he wants to. If your partner leads a 
trump higher than the Five, do not attempt 


So 


PARTNER’S PLAY. 


to win the trick unless second hand covers ; 
the most the fourth hand can do is to get 
home Jack or Game. If partner begins with 
a high trump, not the Ace, you may trust him 
for the sequence below it, but nothing above 
it. If he leads the King, for instance, he cer¬ 
tainly has the Queen, but never the Ace. 


YOUR ADVERSARIES. 

If the player on your right refuses to follow 
suit to trumps you should get into the lead, if 
possible, so as to go through his partner, and 
allow your partner to hold over him. Play 
your highest plain-suit cards under such cir¬ 
cumstances, so as to keep the lead as long as 
no trumps are played. 

If the player on your right leads a plain 
suit through you, and you think your partner 
has a Pedro, it will pay you to put in any 
medium trump you have, such as an Eight or 
Nine. The player on your left will have to 
cinch higher, often to his great disadvantage. 
If your partner does this, and the player on 
your right refuses to cinch higher, you may be 
sure he has the Pedroes in his own hand. 


CINCHING. 


81 


CINCHING. 

This is the most important element in the 
game, and many a game is lost or won by 
cinching tricks at a critical time. As a general 
principle, cinch every trick you can until the 
Pedroes are both played, or you are sure who 
has them. By cinching second hand you 
compel the adversary to cinch higher, or you 
save your partner’s points if he has any. By 
cinching third hand you prevent the adversary 
from getting home anything but the high 
trumps. 

If your partner names the trump, but leads 
a plain suit, always cinch the first trick, and 
lead him your best trump if it is the Ace, 
King or Queen. If your trumps are small, or 
Jack or Ten at the head, it will be better for 
you to return a plain suit, letting your partner 
cinch it. 

If an adversary leads a high trump, such as 
King or Queen, and you have a higher, put it 
on. You either make the adversaries play 
Queen and Ace to one trick, or let your part¬ 
ner get home a Pedro, if he has one. 

The great art in Cinch is to make your own 
and your partner’s trumps separately when you 
6 


82 


CINCHING. 


are opposed to a very long trump hand which 
is trying to save its points. A player with six 
trumps, including both Pedroes, will often 
find great difficulty in saving them if his 
adversaries know how to cinch each other’s 
plain-suit leads, as will be seen from Illustra¬ 
tive Hand No. 3. 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


Nothing will give the student a better idea 
of the possibilities of Cinch than a few exam¬ 
ples from actual play. In the following illus¬ 
trations the state of the score is given, the 
amount of the successful bid, and the number 
of cards drawn. The important hand is shown 
as it stands after the draw. 

It should be remembered that A is always 
the successful bidder, and leads for the first 
trick. The arrow shows the direction of the 
lead on subsequent tricks. 

As a rule, the plain-suit cards are quite 
unimportant, and serve only to distinguish the 
lead of a plain suit from that of a trump. 

HAND No. i. 

Score: A-B, 35; Y-Z, 34. Abidsn on 
clubs. 

The draw A, 3 ; Y, 2 ; B, 3 ; Z, 6. 


8 4 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


After the draw A holds these cards :— 


• 


*jn 



x 


» a 

•> 1 


V 





x 


▼ ▼ 

¥ V 



If you imagine yourself to be playing A’s 
hand the following inferences will be clear to 
you : 

Trick i. It is evi¬ 
dent that B has 
neither of the Pe¬ 
dro e s. His draw 
shows that he has 
three trumps ; but he 
has not four, because 
he can have none 
lower than the Eight, 
and if he has three 
higher he holds J io, 
and would have given you a counting card on 
your Ace. If his three cards were 8 9 10, 
they would have been of equal value, and he 
would have given you Game on your first 
lead ; so it is a certainty that his remaining 
trumps are the J 9. 

This leaves eight trumps between the ad- 


B 


4 -. 4 * 

4 * 

4 * 4 * 

4 -^ 4 * 


A 

TRICK 


4 * 4 * 
4 - 

4 * 4 * 
4 * 4 * 



















ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


85 


versaries. Y, from his draw, has at least three 
more trumps, two of which must be the 6 and 
4. If, in addition to these, he holds 10 and 2, 
Z must have both Pedroes, or he would not 
give up the Seven, and you can catch them 
both by continuing the trump. But if Y has 
either Pedro you cannot make good your bid 
if you lead trumps again. As pointed out in 
the suggestions for good play, when you find 
the adversaries have more trumps than your¬ 
self and your partner, your play is to lead a 
plain suit, and to make your trumps sepa¬ 
rately, using them to 
cinch tricks. 

Trick 2. Y would 
not play a small 
trump if he had any¬ 
thing to discard, so 
he must be all 
trumps. Z has not 
the Ten, or he would 
get it home on this 
trick, so he must have trick 2. 

the 2. Your partner 

knows from the amount of your bid that you 
must have A K Q, and he sees that Y is all 
trumps, and that he holds over his Ten with 







86 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


the Jack, so he leads a plain suit for you to 
cinch. 

B B 




A 


TRICK 3. 


TRICK 4. 


A thoughtless player would perhaps keep 
the Jack at trick 4, so to catch the Pedroes ; 
but as Y is all trumps, he must lead one if this 
trick is left to him, and that lead will bring 
down B’s Jack and A’s King together. This 
would win the game 
for Y-Z, for they are 
already 34, and would 
make Low Game on 
this trick, and save a 
Pedro on the last, 
seven points, in addi¬ 
tion to your eleven 
bid. 

Trick 5. If A 































ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


87 


cinches this trick he loses the game, because 
Y-Z will save Low, and the six points for Low 
and Pedro, added to A’s bid, will make them 
fifty-one and game. 

On the last trick Y leads his Pedro, and 
A catches that and the Deuce in Z’s hand. 
A-B lose the bid of eleven, which, added to 
Y-Z’s five, makes the score : A-B, 35 ; Y-Z, 50. 


HAND No. 2. 


Score : A-B, 45 ; Y-Z, 33. A bids 6 on 
diamonds. 

The draw A, 3 ; Y, 3 ; B, 3 ; Z, 5. 

After the draw A holds these cards :— 



♦ ♦ 
♦ ♦ 



4 <* 

» 4 


Having secured the make on a bid of six 
only, the other hands must have been very 
weak. A bid on the Ace and two small cards 
only, and got another trump in the draw. 

Trick 1. Your partner, B, must have three 
trumps, and as you need but six points to 















88 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 



n^n 

el*LsJ 


u 

A 


make good your bid 
it would be very fool¬ 
ish to lead trumps. 
The better play is to 
lead a plain suit for 
your partner to cinch. 
If he wins the first 
trick, and has a 
Pedro, he will lead it 
trick i. to you at once, as he 

knows from the 
amount of your bid that you hold the Ace of 
your trump suit. 

Trick 2. Z knows B 

that B cannot have a 
Pedro, or he would 
lead it. He also 
knows from A’s bid 
and lead that one 
Pedro at least must 
be with Y, so he puts 
in the Ten to coax A 

A’s Ace or save Y’s trick 2 . 

Pedro. If A covers 

the Ten he may lose both Pedroes, for B can¬ 
not have a good trump or he would have led it, 
as pointed out in the suggestions for good play. 


♦ ♦ 
♦ 

♦ 




* * 



















ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


89 


Trick 3. It is not 


B 


necessary for Y to 


M 


cinch this trick, be- 


V 


cause he knows B has 

* 

♦ * 

* 

neither of the Pe- y 

* 



droes, and cannot 

* 

r? 

* 

save anything but 


♦ ♦ 

/ 

Low or Jack. 


♦ ♦ 


Trick 4. Y hopes 


A 


to save the other Pe- 


TRICK 3. 


dro if his partner has two more trumps. 


Trick 5. B knows bis partner has the Ace, 
so he does not play the Jack, for fear the two 
cards might fall together. Z’s play of the 


B 

EL 


B 


n[T 


Z Y 


❖ * 
* 

± 4 


♦ ♦ 


TRICK 4. 


TRICK 5. 


Queen is on the chance that his partner has 
the Jack, and that A has the Pedro. 




















9 o 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


On the last trick Z leads the Seven of 
trumps, and A’s Ace catches Y’s Pedro and 
the Jack from B, giving A-B seven points, 
Pedro and High Jack. This saves the bid, 
but scores nothing for either side. 

The opening of this hand will repay careful 
examination. Had A led trump Ace origi¬ 
nally, Y would have played the King. If A 
had then led another trump, Y-Z would have 
won the game, making everything but High 
Low, eighteen points with A’s bid added. If 
A had led a plain suit after the trump Ace, B 
would have cinched with the Nine, and led a 
plain suit in return. Z would have passed 
this, and A would have cinched and led a 
plain suit again. If B had cinched this with 
the Jack, Z would have given him the Deuce, 
making A-B High Low Jack only, Y-Z going 
to fifty on their eleven points and A’s bid. 

If A had played the Ace on Z’s Ten at 
trick 2, and then led a plain suit, he would 
have lost the game, because High Game would 
have been all that A-B could make. Y would 
have put in a Pedro at trick 3, and Z would 
have caught it, together with B’s Jack. A 
would have been compelled to cinch the next 
trick with the Six of trumps, and being left 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


91 


with the Eight and Four it would have made 
no difference which he led, as Y would put 
the King on the Eight or the Five on the Four. 


HAND No. 3. 

Score : A-B, 41 ; Y-Z, 32. A bids 6 on 
spades. 

The draw A, 2 ; Y, 4 ; B, 4 ; Z, 4. 

After the draw A holds these cards :— 



Trick 1. As al¬ 
ready explained, A’s 
only chance with such 
a hand is to begin with 
a plain suit, trusting 
that his partner can 
cinch the first trick, 
and that they can 
make their trumps 
separately. Y must trick i. 

be all trumps, or he 

would not have played one to the first trick, 
and B has apparently nothing higher than the 
Nine. Z has nothing to give his partner. 











9 2 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 



so he puts in his 


Trick 2. Y’s part¬ 
nerhaving nothing to 
give him, and there 
being nothing to 
catch, it is Y’s policy 
to get the trumps out 
of his way if he can. 
B credits his partner 
for the Ace of trumps, 
because he bid six, 
Deuce. A takes in the 


two points for Low and Game, and contin¬ 
ues the plain suit, knowing B has another 
trump, and that Y must have both Pedroes, 
because both B and Z have had a chance to 
play a Pedro, and neither has done so. 

Trick 3. Y is in a 
very awkward posi¬ 
tion, for he sees that 
he must lose one of 
his Pedroes, no mat¬ 
ter what he does, and 
if he plays his Jack 
to this trick and leads 
his Ace he will lose 
them both, for A A 

must have had four TRICK 3. 













ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


93 


trumps originally. His only chance is that Z 
has a better trump than B, and can win this 
trick. 

B B 


% * 

\ 


❖ * 



♦ ❖ 




* ♦ 


♦♦♦ 

Z Y 

0 


* * 


♦ ♦ 




a 

* 4 




A 

* * 



* 


4 * 4 » 


* * 


TRICK 4. 


TRICK 5. 


Trick 4 shows the value of a cinch. A’s 
Six of trumps compels Y to play the Jack, 
and no matter what Y does next, A must 
catch the Pedro. 

A-B make twelve points, both Pedroes and 
Low Game, which puts them out, as they 
have ten points left after deducting Y-Z’s two. 

If A had led trumps originally, Y-Z would 
have made thirteen points and won the game. 
A would probably have led the King, on which 
Y would play Ace and return the Nine. 
Whether A passed the Nine or won it, Y must 
have saved both his Pedroes, and made High 
Jack Game, or High Low Jack ; nineteen 



















94 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


points for Y-Z, instead of twelve for A-B, a 
difference of thirty-one points ; all on account 
of leading a plain suit instead of the trump. 


HAND No. 4. 

Score: A-B, 39 ; Y-Z, 40. A bids 13 on 
hearts. 

The draw A, 3 ; Y, 5 ; B, 3 ; Z, 2. 

After the draw A holds these cards :— 



A’s hand was not quite strong enough to 
bid thirteen on, but he was forced to that 
amount by Z’s having bid twelve on an A K Q 


B 



A 


suit. A got the Deuce 
in the draw. 

Trick 1. The fall 
of the cards shows A 
that Z’s three remain¬ 
ing trumps must be 
the Ten and both 
Pedroes, because he 
would not give up the 
Jack if he had any 


TRICK l. 




ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


95 


B 


trump of no counting value. B’s draw shows 
that he holds two more trumps, and they must 
be higher than the Seven, so they are the Eight 
and Nine ; and Y must hold the Six and Four. 

Trick 2. If A con¬ 
tinues the trump he 
will catch one Pedro, 
but the game will be 
lost; because even if 
A changes to a plain 
suit on the third trick, 
which B will cinch, 

Z will play his Pedro 
on the next trick, and 
A will either lose TRICK a * 

Low and Game or fail to catch the Pedro, 
which he cannot afford, having bid thirteen. 




TRICK 3. 


TRICK 4. 































9 6 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


Trick 3. There is no need for Y to cinch 
this trick, as B has nothing to save. 

No matter what Y leads at trick 4, A must 
save Low and catch both Z’s Pedroes, giving 
A-B thirteen points, which wins the game, as 
Y-Z have only one to deduct. 


HAND No. 5. 

Score: A-B, 48; Y-Z, 34. A bids 6 on clubs. 
The draw :—A, 2 ; Y, 4 ; B, 4; Z, 3. 

After the draw Y holds these cards 


•I* •> 

* 

4. 4. 


v 

* * 


* 

4. 

A 


l 

* 4 * 


♦ ♦ 

♦ % 
♦ ♦ 


4 * 

♦ 4 

4 4 








A had A Q 8 6 of clubs originally, and 
drew the Left Pedro and a small diamond. 



z 



4. ( 4. 



4. 4. 




❖ 4 


B 

4. *4. 


4. 


*** 




4. 



Y 



TRICK I. 


z 



Y 


TRICK 2. 




































ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


97 


Trick i. Y cannot tell what Z’s trumps 
are. They might be the Eight and Nine ; 
so Y dare not risk his Deuce on the second 
trick. 

Z 

fM 


* 

4 _ 4 ; 

Y 

TRICK 3. TRICK 4. 

At trick 3, many players would have been 
only too glad of the opportunity to make the 
Pedro; but Y sees that the Queen must be 
with A or Z, and the Pedro must be with A, 
for Z would hardly lead trumps if he had it. 
If Z has the Queen, he will catch both Pe- 
droes on the next lead ; but if A has it he 
will have to use it to cinch one of the follow¬ 
ing tricks, and then Y’s Pedro will win A’s. 

At trick 4, A naturally thinks Y would 
have saved his Pedro on his partner’s King if 
he had held it. It appears perfectly simple 
for A to trump with the Left Pedro, and to 
7 






















9 8 


ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 


lead the Queen to catch the Pedro supposed 
to be in Z’s hand. 

Y-Z score Low Jack and both Pedroes, 
twelve points; which, added to A-B’s bid of 
six, make Y-Z game. But for Y’s play at 
trick 3, A-B would have made good the bid 
of six with High Pedro, and have won the 
game. 


LAWS OF CINCH. 


There is no established authority for a 
code of Cinch Laws ; but all the rules neces¬ 
sary for deciding any dispute that may arise 
in the course of play have been given in the 
preceding pages. 

The following index will enable a person 
to turn at once to the paragraph covering any 
disputed point. 

The rule that affects the score more than 
any other is that governing the revoke pen¬ 
alty, and it is now generally conceded that a 
revoke may be amended at any time before 
the trick in which it occurs is turned and 
quitted. The partner of the revoking player 
is allowed to ask him if he has none of the 
suit to which he renounces. 

The method of scoring cannot be included 
in a code of laws, as that is still a matter of 
local option, and should be understood before 
play begins. There should also be an agree¬ 
ment as to whether or not the holder or the 
winner shall count the point for Low. 



/ 















t 


9 









\ 






















INDEX TO LAWS. 


Abandoned hands, 42. 

Amended bids, 32. 

Asking cards to be placed, 
39 - 

Asking for too few cards, 
37 - 

Asking for too many cards, 
36 . 

Asking number of cards 
drawn, 37. 

Bidding, 31. 

Bidding out of turn, 33. 

Bidding with more than 
nine cards, 34. 

Bids, none made, 32. 

Calling attention to tricks, 
39 - 

Calling exposed cards, 43, 
44 - 

Calling lead of plain suit or 
trump, 41. 

Cards, number dealt at a 
time, 26. 

Cards exposed before bid¬ 
ding is complete, 34. 

Cards exposed in cutting, 
26. 

Cards found faced in the 
pack, 27. 

Cards led out of turn, 41. 

Cards dropped on the ta¬ 
ble, 43. 


Cards named by a player, 
43 - 

Claiming revokes, 42, 99. 

Counting cards in pack or 
dealt, 28. 

Cutting equal cards, 21, 23. 

Cutting to the dealer, 26. 

Cutting to decide ties, 21. 

Cutting for partners, 19. 

Cutting for positions at ta¬ 
ble, 18. 

Cutting out, 20. 

Cuts made with imperfect 
pack, 27. 

Dealer, interrupting, 29. 

Dealing, 26. 

Dealing out of turn, 26. 

Dealing with wrong pack, 
26. 

Dealing wrong number of 
cards, 28. 

Discarding, 34. 

Discarding trumps, 34, 36. 

Drawing, 35. 

Drawing wrong number of 
cards, 37. 

Drawing, irregularities in, 
37 - 

Exposed cards, during 
deal, 27, 28. 

Exposed cards, during bid¬ 
ding, 34- 



102 


INDEX TO LAWS. 


Exposed cards,during play, 
43 - 

Exposed cards, in cutting, 
26. 

Exposed trumps, 43. 

Exposing two cards in cut¬ 
ting, 19. 

False leads, playing to, 41. 

First trick, leading for, 38, 
54 - 

Formation of table, 18. 

Hands, abandoned, 42. 

Hands, irregularities in, 40. 

Imperfect packs, 27, 40. 

Interrupting dealer, 29. 

Irregular bids, 32. 

Irregular drawing, 37. 

Irregularities in hands, 40. 

Irregularities in discarding, 
37 - 

Last trick, seeing, 39. 

Leading for first trick, 38, 
54 - 

Leading out of turn, 40. 

Making up still pack, 25. 

Misdeals, 28. 

Naming trump before bid¬ 
ding is complete, 33. 

New deals, 27. 

No bids made, 32. 

Number of players, 15, 18. 

Number of points to win 
game, 29. 

Partners, cutting for, 19. 

Partners consulting to de¬ 
mand penalties, 34. 


Playing to false leads, 41. 

Playing out of turn, 41. 

Rank of the cards, 15. 

Rank of the Pedroes, 16. 

Renouncing in plain suits, 
38. 

Reshuffling after cutting, 
28. 

Revoke penalties, 42. 

Revoke, scoring after, 47. 

Robbing the deck, 35. 

Scores made with imper¬ 
fect pack, 27. 

Scoring, 45. 

Scoring after revoke is 
claimed, 47. 

Seeing last trick, 39. 

Shuffling for the deal, 25. 

Table, formation of, 18. 

Table, cutting into, 18. 

Ties in cutting, 21. 

Too many cards, 36, 40. 

Too few cards, 37, 40. 

Trumps, exposed, 43. 

Trumps among discards, 
36 . 

Trumps discarded and 
taken back, 34, 36. 

Two cards played at once, 
43 - 

Two cards cut at once, 19. 

Wrong pack, dealing with, 
26. 

Wrong number of cards 
dealt, 28. 

Wrong number of cards 
drawn, 37. 



GENERAL INDEX, 


Abandoned hands, 42. 

Adversaries’ play, 80. 

Amounts proper to bid, 74. 

Arranging tables for pro¬ 
gressive cinch, 59. 

Averaging scores in dupli¬ 
cate cinch, 68. 

Bidding, 31, 73. 

Cards and their rank, 15. 

Carelessness in bidding, 

, 75 - 

Cinching tricks, 81. 

Conventional methods of 
bidding, 74. 

Counters for duplicate 
cinch, 67. 

Counting out, 50. 

Cutting for partners, 19. 

Cutting to the dealer, 26. 

Cutting into table, 18. 

Cutting out, 20. 

Cutting cards of equal 
value, 21. 

Dealing, 26. 

Deciding partnerships at 
progressive cinch, 60. 

Description of the game, 

15. 

Discarding, 34. 

Drawing, 35. 


Drawing before trump is 
named, 52. 

Duplicate cinch, 66. 

Even number of tables, 70. 

Exposed cards, 43. 

Guessing suits bid upon, 

76 . 

Illustrative hands, 83. 

Introduction, 7. 

Irregularities in bidding, 
32 . 

Irregularities in dealing, 
26. 

Irregularities in discarding, 
36 . 

Irregularities in the hands, 
40. 

Leading for the first trick, 

54 , 77 - 

Leading out of turn, 40. 

Leading trumps for first 
trick, 54. 

Low counting to the holder, 

54 . 

Markers, 16. 

Method of playing, 38. 

Misdeals, 28. 

Moving the trays at dupli¬ 
cate, 69. 




io4 


GENERAL INDEX. 


Number of players, 18. 

Objects of the game, 29. 

Partner’s duties, 79. 
Pedroesand their rank, 15. 
Players’ positions, 25. 
Playing out of turn, 41. 
Progressive cinch, 59. 
Progressing, 62. 

Razzle-Dazzle, 56. 
Revoking, 42, 99. 
Renouncing, 38. 

Robbing the deck, 35. 

* Scoring, methods of, 45, 
48, 49. 

Scoring at progressive 
cinch, 63. 

Scoring at duplicate cinch, 
70. 


Scoring after revokes, 47. 
Score-cards for progressive 
cinch, 60. 

Set-back cinch, 49. 
Shuffling and cutting, 25. 
Suggestions for good play, 
73- 

Sweating out, 48. 

Ties in cutting, 21. 

Trays for duplicate cinch, 

66 . 

Two or three players, 55. 

Value of a hand, 30. 

Value of various points, 29. 
Varieties of cinch, 52. 

Watching the draw, 77. 
Wrong number of cards, 
28, 37- 





























































